Midland 101: Airfield developer died in 1929 flying accident

Published 3:02 pm, Sunday, July 7, 2013

Photo: Tim Fischer

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Midland 101: Airfield developer died in 1929 flying accident

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Before thousands of World War II era bombardiers-in-training were shipped to the wilds of West Texas from points across the country, Midland Army Airfield in its original iteration came into being thanks to Midland veteran Sam Sloan. Today's ultra-modern airport still bears its founder's name on the main east-west thoroughfare leading into and out of the facility. So, just who was Sam Sloan?

He was a World War I-era aviator and oil operator and a lieutenant in the armed services. Sloan "was among the first to recognize that Midland, with its location halfway between Fort Worth and El Paso, was a logical place to establish an airport," according to Betty Edgar, who wrote on Sloan in the historical periodical, "The Thorny Trail."

Sloan leased 240 acres from Clarence Scharbauer to build the airfield in 1927 and spent more than $8,000 developing it. Within five months, it was announced that Sloan Field would be a stopover for Maddux Airlines' Los Angeles-to-Dallas flights. The airfield thrived and some said it provided, "the most considerate service in the south," according to Edgar's research. That service included home-cooked meals using fresh vegetables grown at the field and prepared by the airfield's manager.

Sloan intended to develop a flying school at the airstrip, but instead met with a tragic and unusual death on New Year's Day 1929.

Lee Jones Jr., Sloan's employee and close friend, recalled their visit in the hours before Sloan's death, according to his writings that are part of Texas Tech University's Southwest Collection.

"I had the flu when Sam came by my room at the Scharbauer Hotel to check on my condition," Jones wrote. "While he was there, Sam told me that he was going to fly over to Colorado City and drop a note out of his plane for Kate Justice, the hostess at the Country Club, wishing her a happy New Year."

Justice and Sloan had become friends during World War I, when she was an Army nurse and he a member of the Army Air Corps. The two met in France and continued their friendship upon their return to West Texas.

"Sam opened the left door of the cabin plane and, just as he dropped the note the plane lost flying speed and spun into the ground very near the Country Club building -- Sam was killed instantly, the control stick passing through his heart," Jones wrote.

Following Sloan's death, the airfield was operated by his brother and sister. Sloan Field was designated an Army Airways Station in May 1930, according to the Texas State Historical Association. In July 1939, the field was sold to the city of Midland. Runways were improved and landing lights were installed in 1940.

"After the outbreak of war in Europe and the fall of France in 1940, local officials successfully campaigned to have the field made into a training base for the expanding army flying-training program," according to the TSHA. "On July 1, 1941, the municipal airport was leased to the United States government for a dollar a year."

Jimmy Patterson's book, "A History of Character: The Story of Midland, Texas," will be finished this year.